One Side of the Story

2000 deaths of American soldiers in Iraq... some kind of milestone, the papers say. This is not a milestone at all. The two thousandth death means the same as the first, and the same as the last. Further, why not tell the story of the real milestones? Tell of what we have accomplished! Tell of the the miracle that in the invasion of a nation and subsequent station keeping in the face of a continued stream of assaults calculated to take said nation for a new band of slavers, that only two thousand have had to lay down their lives! We built a nation where once was naught but a tyrant and his slaves! How about that milestone? Women voting for the first time ever in the entire region? A constitution? The thousands of new schools, hospitals, and stores? The dramatically increased standard of living? As a certain Lt. Colonel says, celebrate the daily milestones (hat tip: Malkin)! Shoot, I just got done reading about how Air Force EOD (Explosive Ordnace Disposal) teams are clearing thousands of UXO (Un-eXploded Ordnance), mines, IED, and wepon caches. Dammit, stop with just the American body count and start with what it is buying! Tell our story, the story of our success! The success of a war is not told only in how many of our soldiers die! You know, every last one of those who has fallen did something first. They did something good, something worthy of telling about! Then there is what all the rest are doing, what the units collectively are doing!

All I see from those blathering about 2,000 deaths so far is how badly this war is going, how it is wrong, and how we must leave now before a single other soldier dies.
That attitude is not what built the world's great democratic nations. It is not what stopped slavery in the western world (it still goes on elsewhere). It did not liberate the whole of Europe from the Nazis. It is not what will save civilization from the monsters that now roam the earth, monsters seeking only to destroy and enslave.

This war is not a war of deaths, it is a war of lives: of lives saved, of lives improved, of lives restored, and of lives protected.

A BBCstory crassly suggests that this was supposed to be easy... War is never easy, never has been, and never will be. Nobody I know said that this one would be easy. In a war, you fight ceaselessly until the enemy is destroyed or yields. The enemy are still streaming into Iraq, so must we continue the fight until they stop or there are none left to come. We set a nation free, and now there is an attempt to take it in the name of a new evil. No, it's not easy. The worthwhile things never are.

I am not happy that two thousand of my brothers and sisters are dead. I could easily have been one of them. I could be one of the next thousand, but I know why this job has to be completed.
War costs lives. You all know that. What seems to escape those of you who criticize, those who count only bodies, is that these lives buy something. These lives buy your life. Tyrants and slavers do not go away because you ask them to. Security from militant deconstructionists does not come from negotiation. Freedom and peace come from the blood of soldiers... You sit is relative peace now because men like those now working in Iraq once fought for you... and millions of them died for you. In many cases, it was men who were not from your country and who did not speak your language. Are you better than the Iraqis? Do you deserve more than they?

Homework assignment: How many Americans died to secure Iwo Jima? The Ardennes? In the Big Week raids? To secure France? To secure Germany? To liberate the Phillipines?

Pair Pace

I had no real idea what a pair pace was when my sister invited me to witness one... she invites me to all her horsey events, but I can't usually go. Well, I thought it was high time I made another event. It turns out that his was really good one to go to, as this is the sort of equestrian competition that I'd like to do.

So, what is a pair pace? Well, you take a pair of horses and riders, as above, and the riders then ride a course of cross country jumping. There is an ideal time listed for four different paces, and you win by getting the closest time to ideal in the pace that you pre-select. I think I have that right...

My sister and her partner did a little too well, riding far too fast for their pace... they could have won the fastest. They rode well, though, and their four-legged team mates delivered very good performances. I thought that Vanya, the cestnut in the lead there, did exceptionally well considering his advanced age: he was my horse when I was a kid. Today, he belongs to my sister and she has made him far more than I could have ever hoped to do. I can ride a horse and know enough about them, but that's it. My sister is a master of equitation and the equine species in general. The other horse, Dudley, is an ex-race horse, so this was not that big a deal to him, or so it seemed. In fact, from this photo, it seems the rider had a harder time of it.

Both mounts and riders ended the course winded, wet in the case of the horses and glasses foggy in the case of the riders. Oh, did I mention that this event was a costume event? It's that time of year. I may be biased, but I really like the outfit that they used... I saw a few others that were pretty cool, including a cow, contruction, and gypsy-themed costumes... but CSI owned, I thought. Too bad the numbers covered so much of the riders' costumes.


Coolest part? Vanya still remembers me. I could not find the trailer that my sister had arrived with, so I walked the staging field and waited for a horse to look at me. It worked perfectly. Vanya had me pegged before I even saw him or my sister. I got to help get him ready (put cleats on his shoes) and cool him off... this photo shows the end of that... you can see he's tired... Also, I know what it looks like, but I am not holding his halter. Vanya is about the nicest and friendliest creature I've met, so a loose hand on the lead rope is all it takes... and that's if he's excited.

This was the end of a very cool weekend for me. I got to shoot, go to Phantom Canyon Brewing Co. with friends, have a great bike ride, and hang out a bit with my sister and an old four-legged friend. Not bad. Eh, I'm blathering... this post is all about the pictures anyway.

WHAT?

I had heard a rumor that pelicans lived in Colorado, but I dismissed it as legend... until today. I was riding my bike by a wetland preserve and I saw a HUGE one out in the water. I was so amazed that I stood there at watched it until it left, a good 30 minutes. Will wonders never cease?

I tracked down a local birder and asked her about it, she said that the pelicans do indeed live here, but are preparing to flee winter... so what I saw was no fluke.... no, I don't have a photo, nor do I have a lame excuse as to why.

Range Day

I got out on the range again today, and man am I getting an education. Now, I am an accomplished shooter, not only having been a competitive participant in two disciplines, but also a rifle coach for a small but competent junior team. I also held an an NRA Safety Instructor certification in those days. That said, after all the hundreds of thousands of rounds I've fired, I'm still learning. Specifically, I'm learning how shoot a pistol correctly. I can shoot pistols of small caliber very well, but I make a lot of mistakes with large caliber pistols that lead to degraded accuracy... so much so that I once thought that a gun that I had made was innacurate. Silly me. The most innacurate part of a gun is nearly always the loose nut on the back end... It turns out I was shooting it completely the wrong way. You see, I've been shooting with a friend of mine who is a retired cop and soldier and he's been straightening me out. While I'm far from shooting ragged hole groups with that gun, I can hit any target I want as long as it is not too small. Soda cans and bowling pins at 25 meters are dead meat... and you should see what happens when a .45 inch bullet strikes a bowling pin... that's entertainment!

I kept making the mistake of letting the wrong parts of my body relax, though... and every time I did, the pistol would chuck the spent shell at my face! This a good reminder to wear eyewear if you shoot... Anyway, it's a contankerous gun, but I like because I built it and it has been such an education in that if I don't perform flawlessly behind it, it will not even function half the time, much less put bullets where I want them. I think a few more parts that aren't 60 years old may help ( I know that it needs some new springs), and if not, hey: I'll be an even better shooter.

Anway, it was a very good day. The range officer's grand daughter of about seven was there, learning the tricks of the trade. Priceless. Well mannered, too... I don't see that much in children these days, especially around here.

It was a bit annoying to have the target stand keep falling over, though funny at the same time... They have stands there made of steel, but they are only ten meters away from the firing line. Entertaining, but too easy. I like 25 meters for pistol. It makes mistakes more apparent.

Cry race!

Dress codes are racist. Disaster response is racist. The Justice system is racist. The SAT even, is apparently racist.

ENOUGH!

Racism is the act of setting one race apart... of differentiating based on race...

Racism is placing people ahead of each other based on race.
Racism is calling for people to unite under the color of their skin.
Racism is separating history into colors.
Racism is allowing societal stratification based on skin color.
Racism is claiming that only those of a given color can speak for the rest of that color.
Racism is claming that a person needs help because of their skin color.
Racism is separting community by color...

Demanding excelence is NOT racism.
Difference of outcome is NOT racism.

We are all people. People is ALL we are. No more of this racism charge unless there is really something racist going on... and maybe that charge should be applied to certain people who seem WAY to eager to separate us humans by color... people who have gotten a pass for the longest time... Racists come in all colors, and all racists are equally deserving of pariah status.

Ayn Rand is spinning in her grave.

"There are no hard distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false."

So said Harold Pinter. I'd laugh at the sheer idiocy if that statement was not so chilling... After reading that quote, I decided to read more. The man is a raving lunatic and not really that talented a writer... no better than anyone I went to school with. To question reality, though... wow. There is no hope for people like that. I find it odd, however, that since he can't see a difference between reality and irreality that he still finds it within himself to not only have opinions, but to energetically try to bring others into his camp.

Anyway, some moron decided that he deserved a Nobel Prize... probably the same people that decided that a terrorist deserved a prize for peace.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Since I've not the time for anything substantial lately... here's this:

Where does it end? As if the first five didn't suck enough... Rocky is back. That's right: Rocky Six... The Final Frontier... Nooooooooo... make it stop! Make it stop! Come on already, how old is Stalone, 60? I have a feeling that even fans of Rocky are not going to like this one.

So, if you missed all the drooling and unintelligible grunts, don't worry...


In the real world, people are complaining that soldiers were told what to say to the President's questions. All have to say is: ROUTINE. It may not have been on TV, but when I met Vice President Cheney, I was told specifically how to act and what to say... so don't have a cow. This is normal. It's OKAY... sit down and have some coke or something. Shoot, I've been prepped to speak to a mere Colonel...

A good laugh

I don't know if it's real or not, but this is funny. Hat tip, Israellycool. It's written like an April Fool's piece... Anyway, I got a kick out of it, compounded by David's funny link, which you view here.

Have a good weekend.

Serenity

Yeah, It's just as good the second time.

For those of you who did not see the show (Firefly), you can still get a lot out of the movie. It's that well done. For those who have seen the show... why in blue blazes am I writing this? You've already seen it. The only reason it took me so long to see it was lack of time.

It feels like Sunday night... someday, I'll live like a normal human... someday... and then my body clock will work properly... someday...

Oh, yeah... Karl Rove got my truck, as usual...

Sweet

Remember Robot Wars? This is one hundred times cooler. DARPA is so much fun sometimes.

I saw Serenity last night with some friends... It blew me away. I'm about to go see it again.

Last of all, my trusty but often annoying truck continues it's strange antics. The check engine light is now OFF. This disturbs me greatly... that light's been on for a good chunk of the time that the truck's been mine. I guess I need to go into the engine and tinker some, either that or move to Fountain, a sleepy little city that seems to have a truck-function-enhancing aura... an aura known to extinguish check engine lights. First I'll try new filters all around and maybe some better spark plugs.

Ah, what do you bet that when I fire her up today, the light comes back on? Wierd things happen around here to electronics. Some blame the Base. I blame George Bush... and Karl Rove.... mostly Karl Rove.

Snow

There was snow in the pass last night... when I got far enough from the workcenter to look west, I saw a frosting of the beautiful white on the front range... Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy! I hope that his means the usual six weeks before I hit the slopes! This year especially will be fun. I'm trying something new, thanks to some groundwork this summer by my friend Ghettorig... I'll post pics of the wipeouts, and there will be wipeouts!

Reminds me, I think this year, I should get a helmet. As I get faster and take more risks, it's just sensible.

I think this is also the last day of has proven a long week ( I think.. I rarely know what day it is). That makes me happy. Looks like I'm going to be bouncing around to several friend's places to do projects, but that's fun in it's own way and I think Ghettorig said something about cheesecake...

ummm....

Is 'misunderestimate' a word? I ask because of this. The rest of the article seems okay. Personally, I wanted to see another Bork nominated, after all the Republicans are in power and ought to act like it. I guess I'll have to see this one through before I know what to think. I don't like the instant fire at Meirs at all... from either side... but I also see how she is really an unknown, and the last few unknows have burned us badly, turning out to be dictatorial rather than judicial.

You THINK?

This official 'for crying out loud' moment has been brought to you by the sun. DUH!
Okay, it was obvious to me. Admittedly, I do get very involved in space related issues. Still... seemed like a no brainer when I read it.

That was off topic... I was reading this and got distracted...

Beggars

The EU wants to have more control over the internet... or rather, fork it over to the band of thieves and villains known to some as the U.N.

Wow, that's gall. That's also entirely typical of socialists (which the EU is run by), to take control of that which one did not create.

I expect that if thinking like this prevails, we'll have the same stellar improvement in the internet that socialism and/or the UN have brought to everything else that they have touched. (This is my sarcastic face)

On a partially related note, who decided to hold an information summit in Tunisia? How about a place that has actually contributed something to IT: India, Japan, Taiwan, the U.S., Russia... etc? Of course, it's U.N. led and they are the geniuses that formed a human rights commission out of the world's worst human rights abusers... so I suppose this is par for course.

I like the fall

...this is my favorite time of year... but ask me in winter or spring and I'll name them as favored seasons... summer is really the only one I don't like. In New England, it was the blackflies, nasty little hellspawn that are small enough to get through nearly anything, but pack the punch of a deerfly... also they are immune to repelent. In Mississippi... well, I don't think time of year has much bearing on my hatred of that place. Out here, it's the dry and the heat.

I just noticed the first touch of new snow up in the mountains, and that positively makes me giddy. It's still fairly green down here, but a lot of the field grasses died suddenly not long ago.

Now, to get the energy to do something with all of this... I need to chop wood or hunt to make this fell right. Can't do either right now.

The Last Post

I was thinking last night about my last post... this is nearly pointless to write, I guess, but for what it's worth, I'm pretty sure that the shooter knew what he was shooting at. Hits were to the heart and pelvis, if I'm not mistaken. This seems very intentional.